Meet Me In St Louis
by Daryls Cherokee Rose
Summary: Tara and Juice get the hell outta Dodge. I will use any 'flames' or 'hate' to roast marshmallows. This is a Juice/Tara fic. You've been warned.


Disclaimer: Recognised characters belong to Kurt Sutter. I'm just playing in the sandbox. If Juice/Tara isn't your thing I suggest you back button now. A/N: There is Character Death. If you want to know scroll all the way down. Don't bother flaming, 'cause I warned you.

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They decide to settle down outside of St. Louis. There's no real democratic vote or anything. The main attraction is no Charter in the area. Not that they're really worried. Jax is so busy tying up other lose ends that Juice slipping transfer papers (to the Nomads, which don't exactly exist anymore since Bobby recruited most of them for SAMCRO) in amongst other files to be put in the safe isn't a big deal. Though they do sneak off in the middle of the night. Barely waking Abel, just long enough to slip shoes on his feet and a light jacket around him and carry him to Tara's SUV. There are a spate of angry phone calls passed between all of them. The worst, Juice thinks, coming from Tig, and Happy. They want to know what the pair think they're doing. They pick up new phones in Nebraska, and only give the numbers to Tig; who swears on Dawn's grave to keep them from everyone.

It's not a bad deal. Tara gets work at St. Luke's hospital, with only a few phone calls to County General in Chicago, and one 10 minute call to Margaret Murphy. Juice works for a small start-up computer company; mostly removing viruses, and spyware from Nana and Poppy's computers. It's good, honest work. And they settle into a routine fairly quickly. Tara takes the boys to the hospital's daycare, and Juice picks them up when he gets done in the evenings. Juice is growing his hair out, partly to cover the tattoo's, and partly because he wants Tara to let hers grow, so he promised he would. They make friends with their neighbors across the street, mostly because it's a grandmotherly type who can probably smell 'orphaned souls' 10 miles away. She has a yappy Jack Russell Terrier, that falls in love with Abel when he's outside with Juice one Saturday afternoon, 'helping' to rake up leaves. The dog, who Juice refers to as Yappy – because it's real name is too embarrassing to repeat – has as much fun as Abel ruining Juice's leaf piles. And Abel is laughing, actual full out, out-of-breath gut laughing; that Juice can't reprimand either boy or dog.

"We should get a dog." Juice broaches the subject with Tara as they're laying, having worn each other out, in bed getting ready to drop off to sleep. Tara shifts around propping herself up on one arm to shoot Juice an experated, raised eyebrow.

"A dog?" She asks, knowing she's going to cave to the idea, but wanting to hear Juice's argument anyway.

"Yeah, you've seen how much Abel loves Yappy. I think it would be a good idea. We could get a Sheppard mix; they make good guard dogs. Not that I think there's anything to 'guard' against. Just, you know." He leaves the rest of the thought unfinished when he sees the grin spread across Tara's face. They're totally getting a dog.

It's near enough to Christmas; all the neighbors have ridiculously outlandish light display's that Juice feels bad about the single strand of colored light's they drape around the front door. They'll do more next year, once they're more settled in. They make the dog an early Christmas present. All four of them head to the local shelter one Thursday afternoon, when both Tara and Juice have off. They let Abel pick the dog after showing him pictures of Sheppard mixes off the internet. He ends up picking a Sheltie/Shepherd mix that's just under a year old. They bring the dog home that afternoon.

Six weeks after Christmas Tig calls. It's a call they've both been expecting, and dreading at the same time. "Jax laid his bike down on the 5, we were on a run almost home, but it was raining like a bitch. He wasn't wearing a helmet. Tell you the truth, Juicy-boy I think he knew what he was doing. Swerved into oncoming in front of a loaded down 18-wheeler. Funeral's on Saturday." He says the last almost as a question. Juice doesn't know how to answer.

"I'll let Tara know, call you back tomorrow." Juice says in lieu of an answer. Tara's dry-eyed acceptance of the news isn't at all what he expected. They take time off work and head back to Charming. They're not in town for 24 hours before there's literally a gunfight on Main Street. Thankfully it doesn't actually involve the MC at all. Just a weird domestic dispute that got out of hand. But it just cements why getting the hell out was a good idea. They'd been at the ice cream shop going over paperwork with Lowen, Abel and Juice splitting a sundae, and Thomas getting passed between Tig, Happy, and Chibs; when the shots are fired. Tara's instinct has her looking to the table where Juice, Abel, Tig and Thomas had been sitting. The table is turned on its side, and Juice and Tig are practically wrapped around the boys. Tara tries her hardest not to think the thought that's screaming from the back of her mind right now. It's not right to speak, or think, ill of the dead.

Two days later they're ready to get back to St. Louis. There are promises to visit. Tentative plans for early August. Sturgis isn't something the Son's participated in often, but with all the changes happening recently it was decided that SAMCRO would make a showing, it was time to get back to their roots. If any other charters wanted to join they were welcome. Life goes back to normal for Juice and Tara, and it feels good. A blizzard comes through in mid February, dumping 10 inches of snow on the city. Juice goes out in it and buys a snow blower. He's the hero of the, mostly geriatric, neighborhood when he clears out their driveways in a couple hours. They spend Valentine's Day watching cartoons and having a snowball fight.

In March Juice asks Tara to marry him. They have the ceremony the weekend after Sturgis; Chibs officiates.

Addendum A/N: I kill off Jax.


End file.
